Alty says she’ll raise counselling travel ban at cabinet level

Alty says she’ll raise counselling travel ban at cabinet level Ollie Williams Tuesday July 28, 2026 at 5:53am MT Federal minister Rebecca Alty during a housing announcement in Yellowknife on July 27. Aastha Sethi/Cabin Radio Share NWT MP Rebecca Alty says she will talk with cabinet colleague Mandy Gull-Masty about Ottawa’s recent decision to stop funding travel for a key mental health program. On Sunday, Cabin Radio reported that Indigenous Services Canada is scrapping travel funding for programs under the Trauma-Informed Health and Cultural Support Program – including mental health counselling for residential school survivors and their relatives. “Going forward, in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, approvals will be for virtual services only, as there is no funding to support client or service provider travel,” Indigenous Services Canada told mental health workers by email late last week. Counsellors who work with northern clients say virtual sessions can be significantly harder for people and reduce the likelihood of long-term success. Appearing at a housing announcement on Monday, Alty – who is the Crown-Indigenous relations minister in Mark Carney’s cabinet – took questions about the change. Advertisement. Advertisement. “It has been raised as an issue from residents and so I will be working with my cabinet colleague to get further information,” Alty said, referring to Gull-Masty, who is the Indigenous services minister. “It’s important that residents in the Northwest Territories are able to access the service,” Alty said, noting she wanted to be sure “the solution that’s brought forward is meeting people where they’re at.” “The travel cost is something that I’ll discuss with my cabinet colleague,” she reiterated following a third question. The pause on travel funding is understood to have already rolled out. Two mental health workers told Cabin Radio they have not received approval to travel to smaller NWT communities for months – travel that used to be routine. Aastha Sethi contributed reporting. Related Articles Will the NWT’s new MP be offered a cabinet position? April 29, 2025 Rebecca Alty becomes NWT’s first federal minister since 2006 May 13, 2025 Q&A: Rebecca Alty on major projects, Indigenous advice and the North September 12, 2025 Top Stories NWT students ‘miss more than a day of school each week’ July 28, 2026 Ekati’s assets? $192 million. Ekati’s debt? $400 million plus. July 28, 2026 YKARCC announces Daring Lake…